Under_The_Whispering_Door_by_TJ_Klune

He failed.
His eyes rolled up in his head.
Alive, then dead.
But it hadn’t been that quick, had it? No, there’d been more, so much more
that Wallace hadn’t been able to parse through the first time. Now, he caught
glimpses of it, flashes like staccato film, reels of tape that jerked from frame
to frame. He was Cameron, but not.
His name was Wallace Price. He’d lived. He’d died. And yet, he’d
persisted, on and on and on, but that was insignificant, that was minor, that
was gone, because Cameron took over, showing him all that lay hidden
beneath the surface.
“Zach,” Wallace whispered as Cameron said, “Zach? Zach?” moving
forward, but he (they?) couldn’t catch Zach before he collapsed, head
bouncing on the floor with a terrible thunk.
Wallace was no longer in control, caught up in the bleeding memories that
surrounded him like an endless universe, Cameron on the phone, screaming at
the 911 operator that he didn’t know what was wrong, he didn’t know what to
do, help us, oh please god, help us.
“Help us,” Wallace whispered. “Please.”
Another jump, harsh and grating, and Cameron threw open the front door,
paramedics pushing by him, lights flashing from an ambulance and a fire
truck in front of the house.
Cameron demanded to know what was wrong as they loaded Zach onto a
gurney, the paramedics talking quickly about pupils dilating and blood
pressure dropping. Zach’s eyes were closed, body limp, and Wallace felt
Cameron’s horror as if it were his own, his mind blaring WHAT IS
HAPPENING WHAT IS HAPPENING over and over again.
He was in the back of the ambulance as they opened Zach’s shirt, asking
Cameron if he knew of any history of illness, if he took drugs, if he’d
overdosed, you need to tell us everything so we know how to help him.
He could barely think. “No,” he said, sounding incredulous. “He’s never
taken a drug in his life. He doesn’t even like taking aspirin. He’s not sick.
He’s never been sick.”
He stood in the hospital, numb as if his entire body had been submerged in
ice, surrounded by friends and Zach’s family when the doctor came out and